Truth be told, I am absolutely not a fan of “100 Books You Must Read in Your Lifetime” sort of articles. I truly believe that no one can decide how you choose books to read. Well, apart from obligatory school literature, but that’s a different story. It should be up to you and you alone to decide which books you want to spend your time with, and if you haven’t read something that the majority seems to regard as an undying masterpiece, this in no way determines your erudition or sophistication.
With that said, there are so many good books coming out every year, it is easy to lose track and miss something really worth your attention. While it is absolutely not guaranteed that the most popular book of the year will become your most favorite one, giving it a shot is still a good idea, as you might discover something new for yourself.
For this article, we have collected some of the most popular and acclaimed 2022 books. Ranging in genre and subjects, they are very likely to give you something you will appreciate. And while this rating comes from Goodreads, make sure you vote for your favorite book of 2022 to help it climb to a top position. Do you have any book recommendations for us? We are looking forward to seeing them in the comments.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1 Book Lovers By Emily Henry
Nora Stephens spends her life reading books. But she’s not your dreamy girl with a mug of hot cocoa, cuddling with her new favorite book on the window. Nora Stephens is a literary agent, and a ruthless one when it comes to getting deals for her clients. It takes her sister Libby quite a bit of persuading to convince Nora to take a sisters’ trip to a small town in North Carolina for one summer month. But something goes not according to Libby’s plan when instead of meeting cute local men, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a book editor she knows all too well.
Report
19points
#2 Lessons In Chemistry By Bonnie Garmus
It’s the early 1960s, so by every contemporary standard, chemist Elizabeth Zott is “not like other women.” Life has very specific obstacles in store for you when you are the only female chemist on a team at Hastings Research Institute. But then there is Calvin Evans, who falls in love with Elizabeth. Sounds good, but that’s only the beginning of the story. A few years later, Elizabeth is a single mother and — to her own surprise — the star of a popular cooking show. Her very scientific approach to cooking earns her a huge fan following. Yet there are people who won’t be happy, as Elizabeth showed them they can actually change the status quo.
Report
19points
#3 Reminders Of Him: A Novel By Colleen Hoover
Kenna Rowan comes back after five years in prison for a tragic mistake. She tries her best to reconnect with her four-year-old daughter, but some mistakes prove difficult to be redeemed. Every person in her daughter’s life wants to shut Kenna out, try as she might to show that she is a different person now. The only person who still supports her is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner. As their romance begins to grow, they have to hide it from everyone, otherwise they both will lose the trust of everyone important to them.
Report
18points
#4 I'm Glad My Mom Died By Jennette Mccurdy
If you think the life of a child star is full of glitter and universal love, Jennette McCurdy will soon have you thinking otherwise. The star of the TV series iCarly and Sam & Cat tells the story of her ascension to stardom under the overbearing guidance of her mother. With dark humor and unflinching honesty, McCurdy shares a lot of behind-the-scenes details, including having to be showered by her mother until the age of sixteen. Only after her mother’s death and discovering therapy was Jennette able to finally discover what she wanted to be doing with her life – and that wasn’t acting.
Report
18points
#5 The Maid By Nita Prose
Molly Gray used to rely on her grandmother to interpret the world and the intentions of everyone living in it for her. Now that her grandmother is gone, 25-year-old Molly is left all alone. Her lack of social skills is compensated for by her obsession with cleaning and perfect order. She is fully immersed in her job as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel — until one day, she enters the room of the infamous and wealthy Mr. Black and finds him dead in his bed. Not before long, her unusual behavior has the police believing her to be the primary suspect in the case. Unexpectedly, there are a number of people quickly building around her who try to help her get out of this web of deception, but they will have to act fast to find the real killer before it’s too late.
Report
16points
#6 House Of Sky And Breath: Crescent City, Book 2 By Sarah J. Maas
The Asteri have kept their promise — Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are left alone to live their own lives. Or rather, to try and get back to normal. To relax. To slow down. But the rebels won’t stop chipping away at the Asteri’s power; the threat coming from the rulers only keeps growing. When Bryce and Hunt, along with their friends, find themselves amidst the rebels’ plans, they realize they only have two choices: stay silent and watch the others suffer, or fight for the right thing. And since when do they stay silent anyway?
Report
15points
#7 Sea Of Tranquility By Emily St. John Mandel
Edward St. Andrew was eighteen when he was exiled to the Canadian wilderness for an inappropriate rebuke at a dinner party. Spellbound by the beauty of the newly discovered landscape, he enters the forest but unexpectedly hears the most impossible sound: a violin echoing in an airship terminal. Two centuries later, famous author Olive Llewellyn, a native of the second moon colony, travels around the Earth for her book tour. The best-selling pandemic novel she is promoting contains a bizarre passage: a man plays the violin in an airship terminal to collect some change, with a forest rising around him. Detective Gasperty-Jacques Roberts is hired to investigate an anomaly in the North American wilderness. What he finds is a number of upended lives: a young exiled son of an earl driven to madness, a writer trapped away from home as the Earth fights the pandemic, and his own childhood friend who had a chance to do something that would disrupt the universe’s timeline.
Report
15points
#8 Every Summer After By Carley Fortune
A decade ago, Persephone Fraser made a mistake she would regret for every subsequent day of her life. This mistake keeps her away from her childhood home and from Sam Florek. Back then, it took them six summers of afternoons spent on the lake and summer nights in his family restaurant to develop a strong friendship that grew into something much bigger. Then it took Percy one moment to destroy it all. Today she returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral and realizes she has one weekend to put it all back together.
Report
13points
#10 Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow By Gabrielle Zevin
When Sam Masur called out for Sadie Green on the subway platform one cold December day, she didn’t want to acknowledge him at first. Yet she did, and before both of them could fully realize what had happened, they found themselves in a whirlwind process of creating a new video game. Going through every hurdle imaginable, they complete their first blockbuster, Ichigo, before they even graduate college. They become famous and rich overnight, but they have yet to learn how to tame their creative ambitions. Spanning thirty years, this novel examines the issues of identity, success and failure, disability, and most importantly, our all-absorbing need to love and be loved.
Report
11points
#12 Carrie Soto Is Back By Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you are not prepared to give your all, a professional sports career is probably not for you. But Carrie Soto was prepared and did indeed give her all. Trained by her father since the age of two, by the time Carrie retires from tennis, she owns twenty Grand Slam titles and has her name on every record in tennis history. But then, six years later, there is a new star on the horizon who snatches that record from Carrie. At the age of thirty-seven, Soto decides to come out of retirement and reclaim her record. No one in the sports world is ready to welcome her, but Carrie Soto doesn’t care.
Report
10points
#13 The Paris Apartment By Lucy Foley
Ben was not particularly happy to have his half-sister Jess crash at his apartment in Paris, but she desperately needed a fresh start after leaving her job and being virtually broke, so he agreed. But when Jess arrived in Paris, Ben wasn’t in his apartment, which was too nice for him to have been able to afford anyway. Jess is surrounded by his neighbors who don’t seem to be thrilled at the prospect of having her around. As Jess starts asking questions about Ben’s situation, she comes to realize that every neighbor has something they are not telling her.
Report
7points
#15 Love On The Brain By Ali Hazelwood
When in doubt, put yourself in the shoes of Marie Curie and think about what she’d do in the situation. This is how Bee Königswasser resolves every issue in her life. Would Marie Curie accept an offer to lead a neuroengineering project at NASA? Of course, she would. But one thing that is different for Bee is that here she will have to work with her archnemesis from school, Levi Ward. And Levi Ward made his feelings towards her explicitly clear, and none of them were of the pleasant kind. But as Bee encounters numerous problems working on the project, with most of her colleagues ignoring her, Levi seems to soften up to her. And this is one situation Bee can’t consult on with the “mother of modern physics.”
Report
7points
#18 Hook, Line, And Sinker By Tessa Bailey
Fox Thornton loves having a good time with ladies, no strings attached. Then one day Hannah Bellinger appears on his radar, who — unlike every single woman before — prefers his personality to his looks. Since his charms have no power on her, Fox settles for being best friends. But then this best friend comes to town for work, crashes in his spare bedroom, and starts walking around the house in a towel. What’s worse, she comes to Fox for love advice in the hopes of catching the eye of her coworker who she has a crush on. Deep down in her heart, Hannah knows she likes Fox way too much, but she doesn’t want to be another one of his victories. It’s up to Fox now to make her realize he can go all in in a relationship.
Report
2points
#19 Daughter Of The Moon Goddess By Sue Lynn Tan
Xingyin grew up on the moon and is used to her solitude. However, the truth is that she is being hidden to avoid the wrath of the Celestial Emperor who, many years ago, sent her mother into exile for stealing his elixir of immortality. But things can’t stay hidden forever, and Xingyin is discovered, now forced to flee her home. She finds her way to the Celestial Kingdom, where she takes the chance to train alongside the emperor’s son. As they learn archery and magic together, a romance starts to bloom. Determined to save her mother she left behind on the moon, Xingyin embarks on a dangerous quest. But when treachery and forbidden magic threaten the kingdom, she challenges the Celestial Emperor and is torn between losing everything and everyone she loves or bringing chaos upon the land.
Report
2points
#20 Things We Never Got Over By Lucy Score
Knox loves three things in life: his basset hound Waylon, his coffee, and his solitude. What he hates is drama, and in his understanding, a runaway bride is just that. But for Naomi, it’s a completely different picture. She abandoned her own wedding to come to Knockemout, Virginia, and rescue her estranged twin sister Tina. Except said twin sister immediately took advantage of her, stole her car and cash, and left Naomi in town with her 11-year-old daughter, who Naomi didn’t even know existed. With all of this unfolding right in front of Knox’s eyes, he has no other choice but to help her out of trouble before he can go back to his usual life. But soon, trouble turns into real danger.
Report
2points